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Threadbias switching to Quilt Canvas

When logging into Threadbias last week, I was surprised to see the notice that Threadbias is closing. I asked Threadbias designers Alex, Amanda and Rebecca to share news here on Totally-Tech-Tuesdays about how Threadbias grew up and what their new quilting-tech plans may be.

First of all, I want to say Congrats!! to everyone in Threadbias because you did it!
My most haunting UFOs are the ones still in my head, the projects yet to be started. Although Threadbias is closing, it's not a UFO. YOU guys made it happen!

Especially when you consider, the Threadbias founders, Rebecca and Amanda, are not even teckies! With web specialists Alex, they recruited others to invent the unique quilt community hosting site. I can hardly imagine the behind the scenes planning and maintenance that made Threadbias a reality and kept it working. Thanks!

“Toocutete” and“Bijouxbyjannice” were the first quilters to join Threadbias. Rebecca says, "it really encouraged me to go outside my comfort zone to try new things and learn new skills. I knew I had a group to encourage me and offer help if needed within the Threadbias community. I know many of our users felt the same way." These are the same reasons I participated in Threadbias. because of the unique feature of group project sharing, like our Quilt It! Challenge. And the ability to chat by project, rather than in a timeline, what a super idea!

The Threadbias Design Tool isn't leaving, only evolving into the new QuiltCanvas.com. This new tool is more advanced, with hexagons (YAY!) for examples, and more features than when it first launched on Threadbias. You can design with blocks from Quilt Canvas Library, or draw your own. And you can test out real fabric swatches in your pieces to see what they look like together before you cut.

Here is what the quilty design team says about the new website:

Is Quilt Canvas the same design tool from Threadbias? How has it changed?

Quilt Canvas is an evolution of the design tool that started on Threadbias. At its core, it is the same tool, however several enhancements were added. There is a block library filled with templates you can use to build your quilts. We also created a Quilt Builder that allows you to layout a full quilt based on a block with borders and sashing. We’ve also enhanced the help system with a lot of help articles and videos. A number of other smaller features and fixes were also added.

How do you get the fabric swatches for Quilt Canvas?

We have traveled to a number of Quilt Markets and other shows and developed relationships with all of the major manufactures. How we get the swatches varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. We are actually in the process of automating a lot of this. With the move to Quilt Canvas we also give users the option to upload their own swatches so they are not dependent on just what we have imported.

Can you share some insider news on your special plans for Quilt Canvas? Future features, launch dates, what we should watch for, how can we help, etc.

Upcoming features include lines and arrows, text tools, more export options, and the most ambitious is a full pattern builder that would allow creation and export of PDF patterns.

The biggest help would be for people to spread the word. We have a number of active users on Quilt Canvas and the feedback we get shows the vast majority really enjoy using it. We just need more people to know about it.Of special note, your Threadbias projects will not be lost, they are available for you to copy:

When the Threadbias community closes it’s virtual doors at the end of August, we will be exporting all of the projects into static versions. These will stay available for a long time as they will require no maintenance and minimal resources. They will be found at http://projects.threadbias.com.

How should Threadbias members transition to keep following you: new Twitter, FB, etc.?We still have both the @Threadbias twitter handle, though will be transitioning most communication to our @QuiltCanvas handle. On Facebook we have both the Threadbias and QuiltCanvas pages. We also have accounts on Instagram, @Threadbias and @QuiltCanvas.

People who need help with Quilt Canvas can use the support system inside the application to ask questions or can always email support@quiltcanvas.com

AND hold onto your Threadbias ID, you can use it to log into QuiltCanvas!

Which makes it extra easy to get started at this new design playground. See you there!